Rising Stars: Meet Nathan Abreu of View Park-Windsor Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Abreu.

Hi Nathan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m a California native. My dads was a second generation Portuguese American, raised in the East Bay (Oakland). My mom was an African American from Los Angeles. They met when she moved north to get away from her family and attend college at Berkley. After getting married and having me and my brother they decided to split the difference and move to the Bay Area Peninsula.
Growing up there in the 90’s it was a much different place than it is now. Today it’s “Silicon Valley” the tech industry capitol of the world, full of self driving cars and enthusiastic entrepreneurs. When i lived there it was full of old hippies who hadn’t left after the summer of love, music festival burn outs who never caught their ride home and counter culture weirdos. The vibe was very bohemian, diverse, artistic and a bit grimy. It was a great place to grow up.
As a kid I wasn’t very interested in school, so I spent so much of my childhood building things, writing and drawing. I was always making art. By second grade I was writing and drawing my own comics books. I loved creating. After high school instead of attending a typical college and subjecting myself to 4 more years of torture I looked into art school. I eventually moved to San Francisco and studied animation there.
The first two years of art school were brutal. A tremendous amount of work. Many humbling critiques. But going through that made me realized how much I really liked the process of learning and gaining skill in something. By the time I graduated, instead of feeling frustrated like i had after high school I felt energized and inspired. I knew I was on the right track.
After getting out I worked in the video game industry for two years, then got an opportunity to work on an animated feature in Los Angeles and moved here.
Having family in Los Angeles, I had always visited growing up. Still, nothing quite prepares you for living in a city as big and vibrant as LA. There are mountains to climb, beaches to lay on, sprawling suburbs and bustling urban centers. Neighborhoods so big that they have their own unique cultures. I’ve had the chance to live and work all over, from Inglewood, Santa Monica, Venice to downtown. I’ve contribute to big film projects, dozens of TV shows and a few video games. Today i make a living as an artist doing freelance animation/VFX, art supervising and consulting. I love it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When i was young I really hated school. I struggled to be able to focus or remember things. I got anxiety taking test. Eventually that frustration grew into a temper and I was constantly getting into fights. I truly loved learning things, but the academic environment was just so frustrating for me. By the time I reached high school I felt like a failure and had completely checked out.
When you’re young and don’t really have any idea of what you’re good at yet, school is all you know. If you’re not good at it, it’s very easy to feel like you’re not good at anything. I spend a lot of my adult life having to reprogram my feelings of being unskilled, untalented and dumb that were a result of having such a tough time getting through school.
It’s tough to put all that on a kid, and in the world outside academia there are so many other ways to learn and grow. So many things you can do with your life to create meaning and worth that don’t involve memorization or test taking.
I wish I had known that sooner. Everyone’s good at something. Everyone has value. Sometimes it just takes a while to find it. And it’s not always where people tell you to look for it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a 3D animator. I work primarily in movie/tv visual effects but have also worked in video games.
Some notable projects I’ve worked on have been Tomb Raider (the game AND the movie), Aquaman, The Fast and The Furious movies. I’ve worked on dozens of others, but it’s not the project titles that make them memorable experiences, it’s the team of people you work with.
In my career through the entertainment industry I’ve been a pre-vis artist, a rigging artist and even a game tester. However, my favorite roles have been as an art lead. I love mentoring other artists and helping them solve difficult problems with their work. It’s very satisfying which perhaps goes back to how I wished i had more guidance like that during my own growth. Now that I’ve been around awhile and have built up some experience, I want to be that mentor i wish i had and help others reach their artistic goals.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
The best thing about Lost Angeles is it’s truly immense diversity. I’ve always lived in relatively diverse places and have taken that for granted at times. But LA has the largest spectrum of any place I’ve experienced. You can find people from every country, ethnicity, religious background, socio-economic status and culture. All with their own unique neighborhoods to call home. The contrast is staggering and the size of it all can be overwhelming, but after living here for a while you can begin to feel the connection. All these tremendously different people with very different lives and goals all call the same place home. And you’re a part of that home, it’s your home too.

My least favorite thing is the air quality. You don’t notice it most of the time, but then after it rains you think “wow everything looks so beautiful, colorful and clear!” If it wasn’t for the air it would look like that everyday. Such a shame.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vimeo.com/user3291710
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-abreu-5a660921/
• Other: https://cara.app/nabreu

Image Credits
The Orville
FuseFX